Tuesday, 7 January 2025

Greater Manchester Launches Final Phase of Bus Franchising, West Midlands Launch Consultation on Bus Franchising, and Silvertown Tunnel to Open on 7 April 2025

Volvo BZL Double-Deck For The Bee Network - Photo by TfGM

Firstly, Happy New Year 2025 to my readers! I hope we will progress positively in this new chapter.

On 5th January, Greater Manchester finally launched the final phase of bus franchising, which means that control of bus services has been fully regained by the transport authority, Transport for Greater Manchester, as part of the Bee Network brand.

From Transport for Greater Manchester:

Greater Manchester pioneers return of locally controlled and accountable bus services in historic first


Phase two of the Bee Network - a three-year plan to integrate eight commuter rail lines into the city-region’s network - formally starts today
• City-region makes history, bringing buses under local control on time and budget
• Mayor marks ‘historic moment’, and says 2025 will see unrelenting focus on delivering ‘London-style’ transport system to drive economic growth and productivity
• Represents nationally significant moment for other areas looking to regain control of buses, as leading think tank says learning from Greater Manchester could kickstart a strong renewal of local buses in England
• More people now travelling on cheaper, cleaner and greener buses - reversing decades of decline and connecting communities better than ever before
Greater Manchester has heralded a new era in public transport, transforming how people get around the city-region.
Following a phased approach, all bus services – totalling 577 routes, 1,600 buses and accounting for more than 160 million trips per year – are now under local control and accountable to the people, businesses and communities of Greater Manchester.
Making history as the first area in the country to do this in 40 years, Greater Manchester has taken steps to reverse decades-long decline to deliver improved services, better buses and more affordable fares, including:
• Better connections: Making changes to around 75 different routes to provide earlier, later, more frequent and better-connected services; the first new Bee Network service and night bus pilot services. Ongoing reviews will ensure the Bee Network makes it easier for people to get where they need to go through affordable, joined up, reliable services.
• More reliable services: Punctuality of the first buses to come under local control is now consistently above 80% (up from c.69% on the pre-franchised network). Reliability in the second area – Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Salford, and north Manchester – is also better than before, with work ongoing to replicate the improvements seen in phase one areas across the whole network.
• A step-change in the standard of buses: Hundreds of new, greener and more accessible vehicles are now on the roads. By the end of March 2025, more than half (52%) of Bee Network buses will be new and 75% of the fleet will be less than four years old (compared to an average fleet age of 9.5 years in 2019). The number of electric buses in the fleet also continues to grow rapidly, from fewer than 1% before franchising to 25% from April 2025.
• Affordable fares: Average ticket costs reduced by 15% with the £2 fare that will remain in place throughout 2025. A cheaper, simpler fare structure is now in place across all Bee Network buses – with new products including a ‘hopper’ fare, reduced weekly and monthly ticket, and passengers able to spread the cost of an unlimited annual ticket with participating credit unions. Contactless capping across bus and tram – where people can tap and go and have the correct fare worked out for them automatically – is also coming from 23 March 2025.
• Jobs and opportunities: The Bee Network has created hundreds of jobs and new opportunities in Greater Manchester and across the UK, with contracts to operate franchised services and orders for hundreds of new buses manufactured in Britain.
All delivered on time and on budget, with a 5% increase in passengers over a 12month period, revenues above forecast and the cost of running franchised services reduced by a third (compared to having to intervene in the private deregulated market), Greater Manchester is setting the blueprint for others to follow.
Completion of bus franchising marks the end of phase one of the Bee Network, with the same focus and momentum now being applied to transform rail travel across the city-region. The next step will be to bring eight priority train lines into the Bee Network by 2028, as well as deliver the first new stations in more than 20 years and significant upgrades to make more stations accessible.

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Greater Manchester launches cheaper, simpler bus fares on 5 January 2025, with single fares at £2 for adults and £1 for children. New Bee Bus Annual tickets offer unlimited travel for £2.20/day, with over 250 routes joining the Bee Network. news.tfgm.com/press-releas...

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) December 30, 2024 at 2:15 PM

From Metroline Manchester:

Metroline expands outside of London, commences Bee Network services in Greater Manchester
• Metroline expands outside of London and formally began operation of Bee Network services in Greater Manchester
• Brand new buses are now on the city’s roads, serving areas such as Hyde, Salford Quays, Stockport and Manchester City Centre.
Leading bus operator Metroline, a member of multi-modal transport operator ComfortDelGro, has commenced operation of 232 bus services in Greater Manchester as part of the Bee Network.
Metroline enters Greater Manchester having already been well established as one of the largest scheduled bus operators in London, operating about 17 percent of the city’s scheduled bus services. Transporting over a million passengers daily, Metroline’s expertise in operating a reliable bus service across both busy urban centres and quiet local communities in the capital has been invaluable in building the foundation for a successful operation in Manchester.
After being awarded four franchises by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in March 2024, the team led by Regional CEO Patrick Sibley has been working tirelessly to prepare for operation in Manchester. A training school was quickly established at Wythenshawe depot, to begin cultivating a team of highly trained bus drivers who are safety-focussed, friendly and confident on the roads. Supported by an experienced team of driver trainers, over 100 drivers have successfully passed through training as of January 2025.
Numerous new jobs in Manchester have been created as a result of Metroline’s entry into the Bee Network, and the company expects to continue to become a key employer in the local community. A locally based management team comprised of talented individuals with experience from across the bus industry in the North West was also brought together, supplemented with expertise from London and across the global ComfortDelGro group.
In addition to new jobs, Metroline is also bringing new vehicles to Greater Manchester, with a brand new fleet comprised of ADL 200 EMCs, Wright Streetdeck Ultroliners and Volvo/MCV BZLs, which drivers have been undergoing extensive type training on. Metroline also seeks to replicate its strong green credentials in Manchester, with the adoption of electric vehicles. A pioneer of zero-emission vehicles in London, Metroline is in the process of implementing infrastructure that will allow for as many as 134 new electric vehicles to join its Manchester fleet in the coming months.

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The West Midlands Combined Authority has launched a consultation to reform control of bus services through franchising, in line with Greater Manchester.

From West Midlands Combined Authority:

Mayor launches consultation on taking control of region’s bus services
Consultation over the biggest shake up of regional bus services in decades was today (Monday January 6) launched by Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands with a rallying cry for people to take part.
Over the next three months the public are being asked to give their views on the Mayor’s plan for a franchised bus network to replace the current private operator led system.
Under franchising, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), will set the fares, timetables and routes of bus services and award contracts to private bus operators to run them.

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You can take part in the consultation (here), and it will close on the 30th March 2025.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that the Silvertown Tunnel, along with the new bus routes, is planned to open on 7 April 2025.

The Silvertown Tunnel opens on 7 April 2025, linking Silvertown to the Greenwich Peninsula. Journey times will be reduced by up to 20 minutes, with zero-emission buses increasing from 6 to 21 per hour, all free for the first year. tfl-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/silvert...

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— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) January 6, 2025 at 12:26 PM

From TfL press release:

Silvertown Tunnel planned to open on 7 April 2025
• Construction works and rigorous testing of new modern tunnel linking Silvertown in east London to the Greenwich Peninsula now sufficiently complete to set out planned opening date
• East Londoners will benefit from faster and more reliable journeys and enhanced public transport links, with journey time savings expected to be up to 20 minutes at peak times
• Once the tunnel is open, the number of buses able to cross the river in the area will increase from six to 21 buses an hour - all will be zero emission at the tailpipe and free to use for the first year
• Final route and stopping locations for the cycle-shuttle service published by TfL
Transport for London (TfL) and Riverlinx Limited, the consortium designing, building, operating and maintaining the new tunnel, have today (6 January 2025) confirmed that the Silvertown Tunnel is planned to open on 7 April 2025. New bus routes serving the tunnel, which will be free for at least the first year, will also launch the same day. The introduction of these new buses, including the Superloop 4 (SL4) between Canary Wharf and Grove Park, will increase the hourly number of buses able to cross the river in the area from six to 21, meaning more Londoners will benefit from using the tunnel.
With construction work on the Silvertown project now coming towards a close, and operational readiness testing underway ahead of the tunnel opening, work is moving to installing the infrastructure which will support the new zero-emission bus routes that will serve the Silvertown Tunnel – including the new cycle-shuttle service under the Thames. For at least 12 months from 7 April 2025, the new cross-river bus routes serving Greenwich, Newham, and Tower Hamlets – including the new Superloop SL4 which runs from Grove Park to Canary Wharf, will be free.
TfL will also shortly begin to install the new shelters and cycle racks for the zero-emission cycle-shuttle service, which will have a bespoke design to support cyclists and distinguish them from the regular bus network. The service will operate every 12 minutes, seven days a week from 06:30 to 21:30. It will have two stops, one on each side of the river, with the ‘north’ stop located on Seagull Lane close to Royal Victoria DLR station, and the ‘south’ stop located on Millennium Way near the junction with Old School Close.
The service will also have a unique look and feel to help distinguish it from the regular bus network. This branding will be used on the buses, the stops and shelters, and on the wayfinding signs to raise awareness of the new service. Maps showing local cycle routes will also be on display at shelters to help with journey planning and encourage further journeys by cycle. Further details of the branding will be revealed in the new year.
Work on Tidal Basin Roundabout, together with new walking and cycling routes around the roundabout and along Dock Road has also recently been completed, with work on improving Lower Lea Crossing for all road users currently underway and due to be complete by the end of spring 2025.
First announced in 2012, the 1.4km Silvertown Tunnel will link Newham to the Greenwich Peninsula and, supported by the new user charges, will make journeys faster and more reliable, with average journey time savings expected to be up to 20 minutes at peak times. The tunnel is also located in the Ultra Low Emission Zone and will also support economic growth and allow TfL to increase the number of buses able to cross the river in this area from six to 21 buses an hour in each direction during the busiest times - all of which will be zero emission at the tailpipe.
To help manage traffic levels across the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels, repay costs for building the new Silvertown Tunnel, and cover ongoing maintenance and operation costs at both tunnels, a user charge will be introduced on 7 April 2025. Without introducing this user charge at both tunnels, there would likely be high levels of traffic and congestion in the area, which would lead to detrimental air quality impacts, as well as longer journey times.

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I would like to extend an invite for you to follow me on X (formerly Twitter) for transport-related updates. You can find me by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my X page here. I am also present on BlueSky and Mastodon. I look forward to connecting with you on these platforms. Thank you for your support.
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